The Mayan People

The Maya adjusted to life in the tropical rain forest and built a culture based on their religious beliefs.

Be able to locate the Mayans and the Aztec on the map.

Mayan city-states

The Maya lived in the Peten, the Mayan word for “flat region.”

Swamps and sinkholes connected them to underground rivers and

streams and provided water.

Mayan Mayan

Underground Underground

GranariesGranaries

In Peten, the dense forests blocked out the sun.

Only because they had organized government and civilization could they have built cities and fields in

Peten.

Set up city-states where rulers supplied leadership and military

force for building projects.

Mayan Rulers

believed they were descendants

from the sun

claimed right to rule

as god-kings

expected every person to serve

them

• Video: Chamber of the Underworld

WHY?A way to please and honor the gods

Humans kept gods strong by giving their own life-giving fluid, blood

Maya believed that the gods gave life-giving fluid in the rain

Why? Mayan priests offered captives to Chac, god of rain and sunlight

They believed Chac lived in waters below the sink-holes, so captives were thrown in

Religion was at the core of Mayan life.

Mayan Mayan CultivationCultivation

Chac, God of RainChac, God of RainChac, God of RainChac, God of Rain

Tikal - Wall Mask of Tikal - Wall Mask of the Rain Godthe Rain God

Mayan Society

Women married into distant Mayan city-state royalty

to strengthentrade and

form alliances

WOMEN had a big role;

could serve as queens What are

Alliances?

class system set up by priests

Huge pyramid with

temple towered over every city

Tikal:Tikal:

Temple Temple of the of the MasksMasks

Chichen-Itza - Chichen-Itza - PyramidPyramid

Chichen-Itza - Chichen-Itza - ObservatoryObservatory

Overview of Tikal Overview of Tikal (Guatemala)(Guatemala)

Temple of the MasksTemple of the MasksTemple of the MasksTemple of the Masks

Tikal - Main CourtTikal - Main Court

Tikal Jungle View at Tikal Jungle View at SunsetSunset

Sports & Contests

Mayan cities had many ball courts. In a Mayan ball game, teams of two or three players tried to drive a hard rubber ball through a decorated stone ring. Players wore helmets, gloves, and knee and hip guards made of animal hide to protect themselves against the hard rubber balls. They were not allowed to use their hands or feet to throw or bat the ball. They had to use their hips to drive the ball through the stone rings. Because the stone rings were placed 27 feet (8m) above the ground on a large rectangular field, players had to have incredible skill to score a goal. Making a goal was so rare that when a player scored, crowds rewarded the hero with clothing and jewelry. Scholars think that a Mayan ball game was more than a sport or contest. It had religious and symbolic meaning—as well as deadly results. The losing team was sacrificed to the gods in a ceremony after the game.

Mayan Ball Game

Chichen-Itza - Ball Chichen-Itza - Ball CourtCourt

Mayan Science and Writing

The priests thought gods revealed plan in the heavens so they studied

moon, stars, and sun.ADVANCES/DEVELOPMENTS:

365-day calendar

used it to predict eclipses and

schedule festivals, plantings, and harvests

written language

to record dates and numbers

in system of hieroglyphics

method of counting based on 20

only nobles could read language but after

collapse of Maya, no one

could

Mayan GlyphsMayan Glyphs

Mayan GlyphsMayan Glyphs

Mayan Mayan MathematicsMathematics

sky king house child citysky king house child city sky king house child citysky king house child city

Mayan Drinking Mayan Drinking Cup for ChocolateCup for Chocolate

PakalPakal: The Maya Astronaut: The Maya Astronaut

The Maya

The Aztec

Main Idea: The Aztec moved into the Valley of Mexico, where they created an empire based on conquest and war.

The Aztecs The Aztecs WereWereFierce Fierce WarriorsWarriors

The Aztec arrived in Mexico around

A.D. 1250Their sun god – the feathered serpent

Quetzalcoatl – had promised them a home according to legend when the “eagle

screams and spreads it wings and eats the serpent”

Quetzalcoatl:The God of Wisdom & LearningThe God of Wisdom & Learning

Aztec sacrificed

a local princess whose father then chased

them

Aztec reached Lake Texcoco and shelter

on swampy island

Aztec believed this was there land,

so they built a great city in the midst of swamp.

(An eagle perchedOn a pear cactus

Tore apart a snake-It was their sign!)

According to

legend:

• Video: Tenochtilan

New city called: Tenochtitlan which means “place of the prickly pear cactus

Aztec Kings:1. claimed descent from gods2. were picked by council of

warriors, priests, and nobles3. usually last son of the royal

family was picked

The The Codex Codex MendozaMendoza : :

The FoundingThe Foundingofof

TenochtitlanTenochtitlan

Ruins of the City Center, Ruins of the City Center, TenochtitlanTenochtitlan

Aztec View of TenochtitlanAztec View of Tenochtitlan

Tenochtitlan: The “Venice” of the Tenochtitlan: The “Venice” of the AmericasAmericas

Aztec Aztec ChinampaChinampa or Floating Garden: or Floating Garden:15ft. to 30ft. wide15ft. to 30ft. wide

TenochtitlanTenochtitlan

KING

NOBLES

COMMONERS

Largest group (farmers, artisans, traders) Could join

nobility by performing brave

act in war

ENSLAVED PEOPLE

UNSKILLED LABORERS

Social pyramid of

Aztec society

Aztec MathAztec Math

Aztec WritingAztec Writing

Aztec Sun Stone -- CalendarAztec Sun Stone -- Calendar

Religion:Death seen as honorable; Afterlife for fallen soldiers,

sacrificed captives, and women who died in childbirth

Others went to “Land of the Dead” – the lowest level of the underworld

Sons trained for war, girls trained to take care of the house and family

The god Huitzilopochtli :“ We shall conquer all the people in the universe.”

This god was honored by a pyramid in the center of Tenochtitlan known as the Grand Temple

Grand Temple: 135 feet, 100+ steps, thousands of victims sacrificed there

Aztec Sun MotifsAztec Sun Motifs

Aztec Aztec CodexCodex (15c Manuscript)(15c Manuscript)

Aztecs Sacrifice Neighboring Aztecs Sacrifice Neighboring Tribes to the Sun GodTribes to the Sun God

Heart SacrificeHeart Sacrificeon an Aztec Temple Pyramidon an Aztec Temple Pyramid

Wall of Skulls, TenochtitlanWall of Skulls, Tenochtitlan

Sacrificial Statue, Sacrificial Statue, TenochtitlanTenochtitlan

AZTEC VIDEO FOR HUMAN SACRIFICE

Aztec GoldAztec Gold

Life in the Incan Empire

Main Idea: To unite their huge empire, Incan rulers set up a highly organized government and society .

Pachacuti ruled 1438–1471

His name means “Earthshaker”1. 1438 he and son began to

built the largest empire in the Americas (2500

miles north to south)2. set up strong central

government but let local rulers stay in power

3. local rulers took sons to Cuzco, the capital, for training

4. required the people to learn Quechua, the language spoken by the Inca

5. Designed system of roads which covered about 25,000 miles when finished

Cuzco: Ancient Capital of the Inca Cuzco: Ancient Capital of the Inca (11,000 ft. above (11,000 ft. above sea sea level)level)

Inca believed sun god Inti protected Cuzco.

Rulers there were called

“sons of the sun.”

Temple of the Sun at Cuzco

Emperor and wife (Coya)

Head Priest and Commander

Regional Army Commanders

Farmers, Herders, and Ordinary Soldiers

Temple priests, Army commanders, and Skilled workers

Social pyramid of

Inca society

They Further divided society into 12 job categories beneath the bottom level.

INCAN SOCIETY

They rarely did human sacrifice (only in troubled times)

When they did, they sacrificed children because they thought children

were more pure and then worshipped them as gods

They Built large works of stone:

They used no writing, no wheels,

no iron tools.

Machu Picchu Stone city built by Pachacuti probablyfor royal family a

as a festival center.

Used quipo, a rope with

knotted cords of different lengths and colors. Each

knot represented a number or item.

They were skilled engineers.

The stones fit precisely together

The The QuipuQuipu: : An Incan An Incan DatabaseDatabase

Machu PicchuMachu Picchu

Machu PicchuMachu Picchu

Incan Suspension Bridges

Incan Suspension Bridges

Incan Terrace Incan Terrace FarmingFarming

Incan Digging Incan Digging SticksSticks

Maize in Incan Maize in Incan PotteryPottery

& Gold Work& Gold Work

Over 100 Different Over 100 Different Types of Potatoes Types of Potatoes

Cultivated Cultivated by the Incansby the Incans

Produce from a Produce from a Typical Incan Typical Incan Market Market

Incan Ceramic JarsIncan Ceramic Jars

PeanutPeanutPeanutPeanut PotatoPotatoPotatoPotato SquashSquashSquashSquash

Cacao Cacao GodGod

Cacao Cacao GodGod

Cacao PodCacao PodCacao PodCacao Pod

Incan MummiesIncan Mummies

Inca Gold & SilverInca Gold & Silver

Life in North America

Main Idea: The geography in lands north of present-day Mexico shaped the development of many different Native American cultures .By A.D. 1500 about 2 million people lived north

of Mesoamerica, spoke about 300 languages, and called themselves a

thousand different names.

People of theFar North

Arctic regions in Canada

settled about 3000 B.C

The Inuit built igloos, dome-shaped

homes from blocks of ice

and snow

used blubber from seals and whales for oil in lamps and energy food

used dogsleds to

travel on land and seal-skin

kayaks to travel by sea

most hunted seals, walruses,

polar bears, caribou

Life on theWest Coast

In Pacific northwest peoples

like Tlingit, Haida, and

ChinookSetttled.

Used cedar trees

to build wooden houses and

canoes

California was home

to about 500 different

cultures

Fished for otters,

seals, whales, salmon

Became the most heavily populated

regions due to rich food

resources

Life on theGreat Plains

Farming was not as easy due to

dense grass roots on the plains.

Mandan, Hidatsa, Pawnee settled along Missouri,

Arkansas, Red Rivers

Men hunted, women gathered,

and the buffalo was important.

They did not have iron tools

Life in the Southwest

Theylacked abundant

resources of California peoples

They built irrigation canals (Hopi, Acoma,

Pueblo, and Zuni)

Early people like Hohokam and

Anasazi taught descendants

lessons like how to farm

They built apartment-like homes using

sun-dried mud bricks called

adobe

In the 1500s 2 groups

of hunters: Apache and

Navajo moved in the area

Life in theEastern

Woodlands

all over woodlands,

governments were formed

Confederations, governments that

link several groups, formed.

Some had strict social classes and codes of law

like the Natchez and

Cherokee

dense forests

combined farming

with fishing and hunting

THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERATION

WHO Onondaga, Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, and Cayuga

WHY To end fighting among themselves

HOWGreat Peace – a code of laws governed the league

OTHER

A Grand Council formed to make decisions, and women were able to select men to sit on

Grand Council

RESULTHelped members unite against other woodland enemies like the powerful Algonquian